


Some random mercenary day fic

by glackglizz



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21961687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glackglizz/pseuds/glackglizz
Summary: **After the story of Borderlands 3**The ghosts of the war are looming over the shoulders of those they were dear to, but we shouldn’t just expect them to stay there, though, should we?
Relationships: Rhys/Zer0 (Borderlands)
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy y’all! First time writing in these characters perspectives, so it might read a bit funky. This’ll be updated multiple times today, so expect more. I hope y’all are having a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah, and enjoy the first part!

Rhys didn’t know what to say. It was frustratingly silent, and he couldn’t tell if Fiona was mad. She had reached out to him several times over the last couple of years, but he had always said he was busy or he’d just flat-out ignore her, so eventually, she’d given up. And he didn’t really blame her for it, he’s honestly surprised that she even showed up tonight. It was a longshot, a quickly written text. “Wanna celebrate Mercenary Day with me and She didn’t even respond until twenty minutes ago, and she showed up only minutes later. The silence is getting unbearable now, and he feels like he’s going to explode if he doesn’t stop it.  
“Sooo…. Did you and Sash’ ever do Mercenary Day?” She startles a bit at the sudden noise. They’ve exchanged maybe five words since she got here, mostly spoken by her. She shrugs and takes a sip from her hot drink.  
“Not anything big, no. Felix never wanted to, but Sash’ and I would get each other stuff sometimes.”  
Good. He can work with this. Talking about his ex is far better than awkward silence, anyway.  
“By get each other stuff, do you mean steal each other stuff?” He hopes she doesn’t get offended by that, he’d struggled with poverty as a child, but he’d had it nowhere near as bad as she had. She laughs, though, thank god. It’s a hearty laugh and it warms his chest. He hopes she missed him as much as he missed her. He hadn’t known her all that long, true, but shared trauma is a strangely strong bond. “Yeah, or we’d make it, but mostly steal. What about you?” He hadn’t expected her to admit it, he’d only meant it as a joke.  
“Nah, not until I got to Helios, really. Vaughn would get me the most thoughtful things, and I- I felt bad the first time, I didn’t really know what Mercenary Day was, ‘cause my family did Christmas, and then suddenly he gives me this giant blue gun with Handsome Jack's face on it. And then, well, I..” He remembered the gun well, and god damn it, he wished Helios hadn’t crashed. No, no that’s a dumb thought. He couldn’t have done anything else to stop Jack. He did what he had to. He knew he’d never see the gun again, though, and that almost made him regret Helios. Vaughn had it custom made just for Rhys, and Rhys felt shitty about losing it.  
“You cried didn’t you?” She has a smirk on her face and Rhys feels his face heat up.  
“Wh-I-no! No, I didn’t cry, for your information.” He totally did, he cried like a baby, but she didn’t need to know that. “Anyway, what’re your thoughts about my new friends? Cool aren’t they?” He mostly wants to mess with her now, but he also definitely wants to brag. He waggles his brows and smirks. He knows she can’t disagree.

“Dunno. I mean, they’re definitely badass, but.. Mixed feelings about some of them.”  
“Like?” He gets that, Fl4k kinda scares him still.  
“The big guy.” He can’t help but laugh at that.  
“Seriously? More than Fl4k? Or Moze? Or freaking Torgue? Brick scares you?”  
She puts a hand up defensively. “He’s-he’s just got a look, alright?” He shakes his head. “Look, Fi, you’ve generally got good instincts about this sort of stuff, but.. Brick is genuinely one of the sweetest people on this shit planet. I think you should talk to him, you could learn a lot from a guy like that.” She scoffs. “Yeah, cause you’re any nicer than me.” “I am!” They laugh together, but, soon enough, it goes back to silence. Fiona takes a sip from her drink and awkwardly rubs at the back of her neck.  
“Sooo, are you gonna tell me what happened?”  
“Nothing?.. What do you mean?” He hopes she’s not gonna ask why he’d been ignoring her, because honestly? He himself didn’t really know.  
She shrugs. “Everybody here looks like they just left a funeral and, yknow, they’re not exactly celebrating. So who died?”  
He tries to act like he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want anyone knowing how much everything, the war and the cult and all the death, has actually impacted him. He pulls his legs to his chest and laughs nervously. “A lot of people?..”  
Fiona’s jaw drops. “What? What the hell happened while I was gone, Rhys?” She’s not speaking gently anymore. There’s a sternness to her voice that he hadn’t heard in years.  
He scratches his neck and shuts his eyes, speaking very quickly just to get it all out of the way. “Well first a crazy cult took over Pandora and then Maliwan waged war on Atlas and then Athenas was attacked and Jakobs was killed and Maya turned to dust and everyone thought Zer0 betrayed me but then they didn’t and Tannis is a fucking siren and Lilith turned into the moon? I think? But her body.. I honestly don’t even really know what happened exactly, I’m-I’m still trying to just process everything.” He nervously laughs. He genuinely doesn’t know what happened exactly. Lilith had crash-landed back on pandora last night, on the edge of the cliff by Roland’s statue. She was somehow still alive, but it wasn’t looking good. Tannis is holed up in an Atlas lab back on Promethea with her right now, and everyone’s worried. Fiona just stares, mouth open and eyes wide. “God damn..”  
He laughs, trying to keep himself from thinking about it all too much.  
“That’s all you gotta say?”  
Fiona runs a hand through her short hair. “I’ve never really been good with this shit.. Uh, I’m sorry for your loss? Or something?”  
Rhys chuckles at that, cradling his still warm cup in both hands and staring into it.  
“After this long.. I’m just glad you’re still the same, Fi’.” Rhys’ thoughts are starting to spiral, down and down and he’s thinking too much and he knows he is but he can’t just stop. I mean, what if Tannis can’t do anything with what he has? What if Lilith dies because he couldn’t provide enough help? And, on the subject, what if Fiona doesn’t like him anymore? He’s changed, and he knows he has, he’s just praying she doesn’t notice. Still lost in thought, he feels a hand drop onto his knee, making him jump. He looks up and it’s Zer0, with a steaming cup of their own. He smiles at them, beckoning for them to sit down. A red heart appears on their mask as they take a seat next to Rhys’ feet. They speak in their ashy voice, but quietly, so Rhys knows it’s meant for him and him alone. “Tina is now asleep// Brick said not to worry, Rhys// oh, is this your friend?” Fiona’s jaw dropped, she’s shocked by something and Rhys knows it’s how much cooler Zer0’s gotten. He knows Zer0 is cool, he just wants to make sure she does, too. Fiona shakes her head and speaks in a crackly voice. “Um, I’m Fiona, we met a while ago, during the whole Gortys thing?” Zer0 just stares at her, head tilted with a glowing red ? on their mask for at least 15 seconds, then !. “Ah yes, the hat girl// apologies, Fiona// too many faces” Rhys is still a ball of nerves, and Zer0 must be able to tell, because they put their hand on Rhys’ and move to lace their fingers together. Rhys moves his hand from his cup and kisses Zer0’s knuckles. Generally, he’d be worried about infection and all, but Zer0 had cleaned themself up at Rhys’ place earlier that day.  
“Oh my god. You’re gay!” Rhys gives her a look. Being gay isn’t a super uncommon thing, especially on Pandora, which is where Fiona was from. He supposes that he hasn’t been to every place on Pandora, and he isn’t really here that often to begin with, not after Gortys. And anyway, he isn’t gay. Zer0 isn’t a guy, and gay is male and male. He definitely didn’t like girls, but he for sure loves Zer0. Still weird that she would exclaim that, though. He shrugs. “A little, I guess? Why?” Zer0 calmly questions her. “Have you a problem?//“ Her eyes widen. “No, no, of course not, me too, y’know, I just mean, that explains things. With Sasha, and all.” Rhys stiffens. Of course she wouldn’t just pretend it didn’t happen, it’s her sister. “Right..” Fiona looks almost frantic now. “No, wait, shit, I’m not trying to make this awkward. And, like, I totally don’t blame you for any of that!” Zer0 squeezes Rhys’ hand. “We should not speak of this now.//“ “Right, yeah, sorry! I didn’t mean- oh my god is that Gortys?!” Just as she finishes talking, an upgradeless Gortys glides up and hugs Fiona’s leg. “Holy shit, Gortys, it’s been forever!” Just seconds later, Loader Bot walks behind Rhys and places a hand on his shoulder. “Hello, Rhys.” It still freaks Rhys out, seeing LB’s body. He had to keep reminding himself that it’s not Jack, it’s not Jack, it’s not Jack. It helps tremendously, every time LB talks. Jack doesn’t sound like that, and Rhys doesn’t think he could ever forget Jacks voice. Zer0 brings him back from his thoughts by resting their head on his shoulder. “Are you alright, love?” Rhys nods and leans his head onto Zer0’s. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine, just thinking.. thank you.” Zer0’s mask reads uwu and Rhys can’t help but smile at that. Rhys goes to drink some more of his hot chocolate, but not a drop comes out. He must have finished it earlier without realizing it. Zer0 nudges him with their elbow and hands him their still warm cup. Right. He drinks a big gulp, draining half the cup and focusing on the warmth in his chest. Not just from the drink, either. Zer0 is always so thoughtful, and it makes Rhys’ chest tingle. He leans his head back against Zer0’s and whispers. “Y'know, I love you, hon, I really do..” “And I love you, plum.//” And with that, Rhys drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A second part ! I dunno how much I will have done, so far I have two more parts to post, though, so expect those tonight. Enjoy :))

Cl4P-TP rolls toward the quiet group, loudly exclaiming something Zer0 can’t give enough of a shit about to decipher. They growl quietly, careful not to move or be loud enough to disturb their sleeping lover, “ I  _ will _ destroy you.// “ They put a finger to their mask, as to tell CL4P-TP to  _ stay quiet _ . 

He surprisingly does, but he doesn’t stop there. He reverses all the way back to where he came from, over by Roland’s statue. Zer0 must seem intimidating to the little robot. They bring their attention back to Rhys’ sleeping form slumped against their shoulder. Rhys had pulled his hand away from theirs 3 minutes and 27 seconds ago to scratch his nose. Zer0 liked watching him, noticing those sorts of things. Zer0 would never tell him, but they thought Rhys was  _ the _ most beautiful creature they’d ever laid eyes on. 

Zer0 hadn’t heard of love at first sight, not until they got to Promethea, but that’s what this was. The second they laid eyes on Rhys, they felt things they never had before. Something warm and thick, hidden behind their chest. They worried sometimes that Rhys would find out, that they felt everything so intensely when he was around. They were  _ terrified  _ of how he might react. 

For as long as Zer0 had been alive, they’d felt everything in the wrong way. It was always diluted, like a soap bottle refilled with water over and over. Their feelings were never really strong enough. That’s why rhys was so important, he made them feel things, and not just love. When Rhys was around, they felt  _ everything.  _ They felt a real reason to smile, a real reason to  _ exist.  _ Maybe they’d tell him someday. Maybe. 

Rhys was the one that had told them what it was, love at first sight.  _ “Don’t you think that’d be neat? To fall in love at first sight, and just.. not doubt it? To feel it for real?”  _ They feel Rhys shiver and scoot closer.  _ He’s cold. Oh god he’s cold, what do they do?  _ They feel something drop around their shoulders, and they turn their head around to see Moxxi smiling. She had dropped a blanket around them and Rhys. Zer0 smiles at her. She sits next to them and whispers. “You should take a nap too, lord knows you’ve both earned it.” Zer0 shrugs. “ I’ll be fine, how are you though? ” She shrugs and rests her forehead against Zer0’s shoulder. “Surprisingly alright, just tired..” 

Zer0 and Moxxi had gotten close after what had happened with Jack, and closer still as time passed. Zer0 had never had friends. Not like they had now, anyway. They had bosses they were on good terms with, and people that didn’t try to kill them. Now, they had people to rely on, people they could come to with any problem, no matter how big or small, and expect unpaid help. They love their little group, and they’re finally happy right where they are. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might post another one shortly after midnight, but chances are I won't post again tonight. I will be posting again tomorrow, though so :)) anyway, enjoy :DD

Fear.

All Lilith could feel was fear. She couldn’t feel her arms or legs, she couldn’t feel her lips or eyes. She couldn’t even  _ see _ anything.  _ All Lilith could feel was fear.  _ It wasn’t a foreign feeling, she was always scared. Not this bad, of course, but she’d always been scared. Scared of what would happen next. Scared that she would prove herself to be a terrible leader, that she’d fail the crimson raiders and the citizens of Sanctuary. She was scared that she was going to fail herself. 

She still doesn’t know where she is, or how long it’s been since she started thinking again, or  _ why  _ she’s started thinking again. She doesn’t remember what happened, what made her  _ stop _ thinking. There’s just a blur, between when she left Pandora and now. Why did she even leave pandora? Oh, right. To  _ save _ Pandora. She doesn’t know what she did, or if it even worked, but she hoped it did. All of the citizens of Sanctuary were in the sky.  _ They _ were safe, but there are far too many people on Pandora to just ignore. Maybe one of these days, if she got the chance, she’d try to save some of the folks still on Pandora. The kids, the ones who didn’t turn into psychos, maybe even some of the bandits. She’d never have that chance, though. At least she’s not terrified anymore.

She must be dead. There’s too much nothing here, no action or existence, just  _ nothing.  _ She  _ must _ be dead. She starts hearing something, someone’s voice. She hears crying.  _ Then she can see.  _ But she can only see white. Everything’s far too bright for her to interpret, but she can hear  _ them _ . Two people, it sounds like.. Tannis and a guy. Who’s the guy? Whoever he is, he’s crying up a storm. She can hear him sniffling, choking on his tears. “Rhys, Rhys stop that, it’s quite disturbing!”  _ Rhys _ . Right, the mustache guy. Head of Atlas. She knows him. She feels something press against her chest, but she doesn’t quite  _ feel _ it. It feels like a faded memory, there, but still not quite. “Y-you’re gonna be-be fine, Lilith, or I swear to-to god..” The feeling on her chest is gone now, and she hears Rhys take a deep shaky breath. “Tannis, help me lift her up. We’ll get her to Atlas HQ, she’ll be fine-“ “Rhys, don’t be delusional.” Lilith hears a sniffle from Tannis and wonders if she heard right. She’s  _ never  _ heard Tannis cry. “She’s  _ covered  _ in burns. She won’t even survive the night. We should just-” Rhys is angry now, she can tell by his voice, even though he doesn’t yell. “You don’t  _ know _ that! Whether you h-help me carry her or not, she’s  _ going  _ to-to Atlas, and she’s  _ going _ to be fine.” She hears sniffles again, and she wants to talk to them. She wants to comfort him. She would say ‘Don’t worry, Rhys, I’m here, I’m alright’ but she can’t. She thinks she’d be lying.  _ Is  _ she even here? She’s probably dead, her spirit lingering, waiting to pass on her abilities. She’s losing her hearing now, she’s drifting, but she’s trying to hold on to it, listening for the sounds that don’t come.  _ I’m here, I’m here, please- _

Her eyes shoot open and she gasps. Gods, it’s so bright, but she can see this time at least. Her head hurts, it hurts beyond belief. She notices something in her hand, something warm. She looks over and sees a hand in hers. Her eyes follow the arm up to their owner. “Tannis?” Tannis leaps forward and pulls Lilith into a hug. What the hell? Tannis has never done  _ that  _ before. “What the  _ fuck _ were you  _ thinking _ , Lilith?!” Lilith puts a hand against Tannis’ back. “I was thinking about saving Pandora, Tannis.. Did it work?” Tannis laughs. “Yes, yes it worked.” She doesn’t pull away though. Not until the door creaks open behind her. Hammerlock walks in and Tannis jumps back, sitting down in her seat. “Hammerlock, what’s up?” He smiles wide at her. “ _ Excellent.  _ Did you sleep well, vault hunter?” Lilith shrugs. “Was I dead?” He makes a high pitched  _ eh _ sound. Tannis interrupts whatever he was about to say with an explanation. “Yes but no. Your siren abilities were keeping you alive, but your human side was definitely deceased. We had to kill your siren side.” She looks down, noticing that her tattoos are gone. “What- _ how?”  _ Tannis shrugs _. “ _ It was an accident, really. Your abilities were keeping you alive, but they stopped. You were running on empty. So, you died, and we can’t bring back the dead, but your tattoos were still glowing, so we pumped you with eridium. Your wings appeared, then your tattoos vanished and, well, here we are.” Lilith couldn’t help but stare. She’s not a siren.  _ Again _ . Where did her abilities go? When a siren dies, their abilities pass on. Judging by what happened with Maya, she should get a choice there, right? They shouldn’t just  _ vanish.  _ Especially since Lilith was  _ alive _ ! “I  _ am  _ alive now though, right?” Tannis nods. “Barely, but yes.” Lilith flexes her hand and stares at her wrist and inner elbow. “And my burns? I don’t see any, now.” Tannis raises a brow at that. “I distinctly remember  _ not  _ telling you of the burns.” Lilith shrugs and looks around for her gloves. “I heard you tell Rhys, when you guys found me. Where is he, anyway?” “I thought you were unconscious, and Ava healed them. Rhys is on Pandora, to my knowledge. I assume the whole lot is, as that’s where Sanctuary is parked, too.” Lilith yanks the needles from her arm and stands up. She surprisingly isn’t lightheaded or anything. Last time she was without her abilities, she felt faint. Constantly falling over, shaky. Now, she felt like usual. Just without the tattoos. Tannis’ Echo buzzes. “Tannis-Tannis-Tanniiiiiiis-” It’s Rhys, and he sounds scared. Like,  _ really  _ scared. “Rhys? What’s wrong?” A sigh from the other end. “Oh, thank god you’re awake Lilith, you can fix this. Get to Devil’s Razor ASAP.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll probably only be two or three more parts? As always, I running very low on inspiration so,, this parts a little shorter than the others. im,, not good at writing actiony stuff so sorry if it reads weird. enjoy!

Rhys woke with a start, bonking heads with Zer0, hitting his temple reeeeally hard. “Shit, shit,  _ owww- _ “ Zer0 uses their hands to tilt Rhys’ head. “ No blood, are you fine? ” Rhys rubs his temple. “Probably gonna bruise, but yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about it. Sorry about that.” “ A bad dream, my love? ” Rhys nods. Zer0, due to not having a human body of their own, had no idea what Rhys’ limits were. Rhys didn’t have the heart to tell them that people can die without there being blood. Zer0 worries about him far too much as is. “I’m gonna- I’m gonna go say hi to some of the others, alright?” He places a kiss to the side of Zer0’s helmet and walks toward the statue. Mordecai isn’t looking at Brick, but rather he’s staring at the ground, smiling to himself with a blush splashed across his cheeks. “-shouldn’t say that kinda stuff in front of Tina..” “Hon, she’s asleep. We’re free to say as many gross things-” 

“Hey, Rhys!” Brick notices him and waves. “How ya holdin’ up, buddy?” Rhys smiles at him, trying to shake off the effects of the bad dream. “Uh, I’m good? I guess? You guys hear any news about Lilith?” They both shake their heads, and Mordecai speaks quietly. “Nah, man. I’m sure she’ll be fine, though. She’s tough.” Rhys nods. “I was wondering, can I ask you a favor, Brick?” He raises a brow. “If it involves explosions or fists, I’m in.” Rhys laughs. “No, no it doesn’t... Remember Fiona? From when you got Athena? She’s- well, she’s scared of you, I think.” Brick nods. Mordecai laughs gruffly. “A lotta people are, it’s part of his charm.” Brick smiles at Mordecai then looks back to Rhys expectantly. “I was wondering if, well, if you could just.. talk to her? I want her to feel comfortable here, and you’re good with that kinda stuff.” Brick nods. “‘Course I can, I’ll be right back, hon.” He places a kiss to the top of Mordecai’s head and tiptoes away, careful not to wake Tina. 

“Wanna beer, Rhys?” Rhys raises a brow at him, skeptically. “I thought you didn’t drink?” He shrugs. “I don’t, but you’ve been through hell, so I thought you might.” He holds out a can for Rhys, and Rhys takes it. Lord knows he could use a drink. When he pops the lid open, Mordecai holds out his soda can. “A toast.” Rhys gives him a curious look. “To better days, yeah?” Rhys nods and smiles weakly. “To better days.” He moves to clink their cans together, but before he can, he starts levitating. His stomach feels weird, and now he’s at least five feet above the ground. “Oh, oh god, Mordecai what’s happening, Mordy what the hell did you give me?!” 

He’s swinging his legs around, trying to get himself closer to the ground. Mordecai drops his can. “Show me your arm.” Rhys keeps swinging his legs, and Mordecai gets louder. “ _ Now, Rhys.”  _ Everyone’s starting to gather around him now, but no one’s doing anything. He pulls his sleeve up and  _ oh my god he’s glowing! Rhys is glowing!  _ Mordecai laughs, “Looks like you’re a siren.” He activates his prosthetic and quickly calls Tannis. She answers nearly instantly. “Tannis-Tannis-Tanniiiiiiis-” He’s just floating around now, but he feels like he’s going to vomit. Surely this isn’t normal, Tannis will be able to fix this. Tannis is smart, and she knows more about sirens than anyone else. She can fix this. It’s not Tannis that responds, though. “Rhys? What’s wrong?” He falls to the ground all of a sudden, but he’s (thankfully) caught bridal-style by Zer0. “Oh, thank god you’re awake Lilith, you can fix this. Get to Devil’s Razor ASAP.” He hangs up the line as Zer0 sets him down and shows a ‘?’ on their mask. “ You are a siren?// ” Rhys shrugs. “I dunno! I- I  _ guess?  _ I just wanted some freaking beer and now I have tattoos! What the fuck is  _ wrong  _ with me?!” He looks at his tattoo-covered arm. They’re definitely Lilith’s tattoos. He was worried for a moment, that she’d died. When sirens die, their abilities pass on. He hears the familiar noise of the fast-travel station, turning toward it just as Lilith comes running at him. “What happened? What’s wrong?!” He holds out his arm angrily. He’s not mad at  _ her _ , and he really hopes it doesn’t come across that way. He’s just mad at the situation. Lilith laughs. “Holy shit.” He wiggles his arm at her. “Take it back! I don’t want it, I don’t know why you even gave it to me!” She crosses her arms. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t.” He crosses his arms right back. “And why’s that, huh? I thought we were  _ cool _ , Lil’!” She gives him an incredulous look. “You should be thankful, dude. I didn’t even  _ choose  _ to give them to you, fate did that all on its own.” He’s so frustrated that he starts to storm off, without even thinking about it. He backtracks though, and gives Lilith a tight hug, whispering, “I’m glad you’re alive.” He grabs Zer0’s hand and drags them up to the fast-travel station. “We’re-we’re going  _ home,”  _ He’s putting in Atlas HQ now. “And I’m going to run some tests. Is that okay with you?” He turns to Zer0, waiting for a response. After a couple of seconds, he gets a thumbs up from them. “Cool. Cool, cool,  _ cool _ .” He yells a quick “Happy mercenary day!” to those still gathered around him. He hits a couple more buttons, and with a swoosh, they’re gone.


End file.
